This week, for Diwali, Tamil releases have taken over theaters in the Telugu states due to the absence of straight Telugu films, and the momentum from the previous week’s releases has slowed down.
Two Tamil films, featuring well-known faces like Karthi (Japan) and Jigarthanda DoubleX (Lawrence and S. J. Suryah), opted to skip the usual Thursday premieres in the U.S., fearing early reviews.
This decision has proven costly for both films, as on the very next day (Friday in India), reviews were largely mixed, resulting in poor collections in the U.S. without premiere shows.
Around 7 PM EST, “Japan” starring Karthi collected $44,811, and “Jigarthanda 2” collected $38,500. These figures are extremely disappointing for films with well-known casts.
Had they opted for Thursday premieres, these films could have collected a decent sum, capitalizing on the vacuum and pre-release buzz they had.
